Home › Words › F › forelayforelayforelay means to lay down beforehand.EtymologyFrom fore- + lay.verbTo lay down beforehande.g.“these grounds being forelaid and understood” — a. 1639, Joseph Mede, Discourse V - Let a man so account of us as the Ministers of Christ, and Stewards of the Mysteries of God:To waylay.e.g.“c. 1624, Joseph Hall, a sermon either some secret detractor hath forelaid thee by a whispering misintimation”To plan; contrive in advancee.g.“You folks had better forelay to come aboard by then.” — 1917, Charles Neville Buck, The Tyranny of Weakness:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.prelaid 75% match — Laid down in advance. vs forelay →prelaying 68% match — Before a bird lays eggs. vs forelay →foreslay 67% match — To slay beforehand or in advance. vs forelay →laying 64% match — The act by which something is laid (in any sense). vs forelay →onlay 64% match — To lay or place something on a surface. vs forelay →forelie 63% match — To lie in front. vs forelay →prelay 60% match — To record music and other sound elements at the correct time code locations on a master format without regard to final levels and mixing. vs forelay →foreready 59% match — To make ready ahead of time; prepare in advance. vs forelay →